Aveda is an American cosmetics company that is environmentally pioneering with its nature-based products for hair, skin, body, and wellbeing. Aveda products are created from pure flower and plant essences, no chemicals, no artificial colors or fragrances.
All these natural products and yet these hair product solutions are so powerful that Aveda calls them prescriptions.
They are a widely recognized path-blazing brand of nature-based products. They state in their story that “Our mission at Aveda is to care for the world we live in, from the products we make to the ways we give back to society. At Aveda, we strive to set an example for environmental leadership and responsibility, not just in the world of beauty, but around the world.”
Aveda is setting a path for other leading brands to follow, and it is the future of sustainable hair care.
This is how:
Use Sustainable Packaging:
First things first, the easiest way that Aveda offers is environmentally responsible packaging. They use co0creating breakthrough solutions with suppliers to reduce dependency on plastic and global plastics pollution,
At Aveda, they “believe there is no responsible alternative to doing business other than through environmental sustainability, and this belief guides every decision we make. We find inspiration in doing so in nature and believe that nature is not merely something to be cherished and protected but also should be emulated as a model of sustainability. We also believe that profit and environmental responsibility will increasingly work together as more industries find out that nature works for both sustainability and the bottom line”.
They are proud to say that they are the first beauty company to be using “100% post-consumer PET,” with more than “85% of skincare and hair styling PET bottles and jars contain 100% post-consumer recycled materials”.
Aveda is mindful of every package they develop; they are mindful of their environmental footprint and work to minimize their packaging and maximize their use of recyclable and post-consumer recycled materials.
Within their sustainable packaging they:
- Consider the life cycle analysis when developing packing options
- Reduce the size, weight, and production processes of packaging wherever possible
- Offer packaging that can be recycled whenever possible
- Use the most environmentally sound materials such as post-consumer recycled (PCR) content as commercially possible without affecting the efficacy of the product.
- They use renewable energy to manufacture and fill their packaging in Blaine.
- They challenge packaging partners to meet this same standard.
Now, this is where you come in; while Aveda cannot guarantee that their packaging will be recycled, they can do their part, ensuring that the material it’s made out of will have a chance of another life instead of going to a landfill.
So if you’re looking to become more sustainable, just be sure to recycle once you’ve finished!
90% of Aveda’s polyethylene (HDPE) plastic bottles use a minimum of 80% PCR, made from milk bottles and two of their new products. To their calculation, this saves them over 600 tonnes of virgin plastic each year.
They also use PETA from recycled soda and water bottles for many of their bottles and jars.
Responsible Manufacturing:
Aveda has not only made their packaging responsible for the environment, but they have also made the manufacturing process sustainable. Through aggressive reductions in waste and water across the Aveda Value Chain, they are always striving towards a more sustainable future.
As I said earlier, Aveda was the first company to manufacture all products with 100% wind power through renewable energy credits and carbon offsets, balancing their electrical and natural gas usage. They also purchase credits and offsets to cover the overwhelming majority of US operations.
They have a new solar array at Aveda headquarters that is expected to provide 50% of manufacturing facilities’ annual demand. Pretty cool, right? Plus, more than 83% of Aveda’s waste is re-used or recycled in their primary manufacturing facility.
Responsible Sourcing
Next up is the responsible sourcing of the ingredients used within Aveda products. All of their ingredients are naturally derived, which they define to be those for which more than 50% of the molecule comes from a plant, mineral, water, or natural source.
The products are also all certified organic, sourced from sustainable or renewable plant-based origins that do not negatively impact ecosystems from which they are sourced. Aveda uses a number of green ingredients in its products as part of its mission.
Since 2000, Aveda has substantially increased its purchases of organic, raw herbal ingredients and organic essential oils from 20-25% of total tonnage to more than 90% for both while increasing our total tonnage significantly.
Aveda has established soil to bottle traceability for certain key ingredients, which allows Aveda to progressively document and expand the source of these ingredients while promoting quality through its supply chain.
Plus, all of Aveda’s essential oils are processed in an environmentally responsible manner through steam distillation.
Clean Beauty:
One of my favorite things about the brand Aveda is that they offer clean beauty. No chemicals are hidden in the fine print; their naturally sourced materials have made a real reputation for the brand and are the reason why there are so many Aveda salons across the globe.
After all, it’s what’s inside that count, which is why Aveda work tirelessly to bring the best products possible.
For starters, Aveda is a cruelty-free brand and has been 100% vegan for the past year. They do not test on animals nor derive any of their ingredients from animals; their products are “people tested.” The company loves their furry friends and strive to look after them.
Being cruelty-free and vegan is an important part of their mission to “care for the world we live in.” They strive to set an example for leadership and responsibility of caring, not just for the world of beauty but around the world.
As of January 1, 2021, Aveda is also 100% vegan, no one-month Veganuary, but instead, a sustainable and permanent solution that sets Aveda apart from its top competitors– this along with the sustainability of the brand and impacts on the environment.
From plant-based hair care to mindfully made body care, their groundbreaking 100% vegan pledge reflects their founding ethos that “our wellbeing is inextricably tied to the planets. Creating 100% vegan products is a small yet powerful step in honoring the Earth.”
Their Blaine Minnesota manufacturing plant is “certified as a wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation.” They worked with NWF to create“drive with care”signs that would help protect wildlife on their campus.
Aveda also practices bee-friendly gardening at their headquarters in Baine, MN, and provides honey bee haven with access to pesticide-free food, shelter, and water– save the bees!
Plus, they never use parabens, mineral oil, petrolatum, paraffin, formaldehyde, and its donors, SLES, oxybenzone, benzene, retinyl palmitate, microcrystalline wax, polyethylene beads, triclosan, triclocarban, lanolin, carmine, talc, or synthetic fragrance.
So you’ll never be caught out with harsh chemicals ever again! Their formulas are 90% naturally derived on average.
Social Responsibility:
Finally, Aveda takes social responsibility for their brand; they have been caring for the world since 1978. To date, their guests, artists, employees, and leaders have raised nearly $65M to help fund environmental initiates globally.
Their goal is to increase this number to 75$ by the end of 2022 through their annual Earth Month initiatives. They have partnered with charity water to provide clean water access, sanitation, and hygiene to communities in India, Nepal, Madagascar, and Ethiopia– all countries where they source ingredients.
Other beauty brands are slacking in comparison to Aveda; they are the way of the future. Want to know the full review of the Aveda line? Well I created a full Aveda Products Review so be sure to check that out for the reasons why Aveda is so great!